


I'm not drininking that

by Jessistired



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Justice League Dark (2017), Justice League Dark (Comics)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:27:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23765347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jessistired/pseuds/Jessistired
Summary: Just a one shot of Zatanna and John taking down some random cult.
Relationships: John Constantine/Zatanna Zatara
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	I'm not drininking that

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this when I was going through writers block. If it's bad that's what I'm blaming it on

Zatanna crossed her arms. “I'm not drinking it.”

“Why not?” 

“It's an ancient potion first conceived by dark wizards.”

“And?”

“It was recreated by a cult.”

“Yeah.” John was looking at her like she was being silly for not wanting to drink from the antique goblet.

“Not to mention it's smoke.” Zatanna pointed to the goblet, where green smoke was starting to flow over the edge. It resembled the poisonous gas in cartoons. The only thing it was missing was a skull and crossbones.

“Magic smoke.”

“That’s worse.”

“Do you have another idea to see the spirits the cult released?”

Zatanna sighed. If only she knew the names of what was released. Then she could use backwards magic and avoid lung-cancer-in-a-cup. “No.”

John smirked in victory. “Thought so. I'll take the first swig.”

He did so unceremoniously as if he were taking a shot of vodka. His face immediately scrunched up. He took a step back and started coughing. Zatanna sighed inwardly. If John was having trouble with this, it would be hell for her.

But she took the cup from John, looking at him with unsympathetic eyes. This was his horrible idea. He was finally starting to calm down from his coughing fit when she brought the goblet to her lips. 

She had expected the gas to slowly work its way through her. The smoke rushed into her mouth and down her throat quickly and unnaturally. Like the smoke, impatient, unable to wait to enter her any longer, barreled headfirst into her throat. It felt as if hot ash skimmed down her throat. She instinctively dropped the goblet and clawed at her throat. Coughs wracked through her, trying to get the smoke out of her system. It was too late, the sensation was in her lungs already. She fell to her knees, only able to concentrate on coughing. Getting that vile substance out of her system. 

Slowly the coughing slowed and her body recovered. She was viewing the world through a green haze. The first thing she registered was John rubbing her back.

“There there love,” He murmured. “It's all right, get it all out.”

The next thing she registered was the taste. It wasn't like cigarette or campfire smoke. There was a chorus of chemicals sizzling across her tongue, with a hint of something floral. 

“Did they use scented candles?”

John chuckled. “Lilac, I think.”

He was right, which made her wonder how he could tell. She wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint the specific taste. A vague memory of John drinking perfume came to her mind.

She forced herself to concentrate on the task at hand. Lilac for an ancient, powerful, temperamental spell. They should have been worried about it ruining the spell, or causing disastrous consequences. 

“We can not lose to these amateurs.”

“I know, we'd both lose our reputations.” John helped Zatanna up. “Slowly now, love.”

“You seem to be doing better than me.”

“Years of taking shit like that has left me numb."

“Right, I’m sure this is nothing compared to your usual Saturday night.”

“You drank it too,” John said pointedly. 

“I'm just trying to make sure you don't get yourself killed or doom the world.” The latter was lower on her list. She knew that in the end, John would lay down his life to save the world. Her main goal was to keep him from doing something self-destructive for the ‘greater good’. “Let's get this over with.”

John nodded and walked to the door. They had hidden out in a small room of the facility. Judging from the large table and chairs surrounding it Zatanna guessed it was a conference room. Weird, but even crazy magical cults need to hold meetings. After all, they had to make sure they weren’t going over budget on cloaks or scented candles.

When they first grabbed the goblet, they were on the other side of the building. Naturally, the cult was not too pleased with outsiders attempting to steal their secret potion. They chased John and Zatanna until the two finally ducked into the room. John had cast spells to make sure no one found them.

“You know,” Zatanna said. “They should have broken through your protective wards by now.”

“Give me a little faith, Zee.”

“I'm serious, John. They used scented candles.”

John understood where she was going with this. “Admittedly it's an unusual and scrappy solution, but it got the job done.”

“There's no way people of their skill level should have been able to find this spell in the first place.”

“Dumb luck, Zee.”

Zatanna shook her head, “There's something more at play here.”

John sighed because he knew she was right, but it wasn’t something he wanted to dwell on. That was tempting the universe. “Let's just hope that something more doesn't decide to make an appearance tonight.”

It didn't, thankfully. The final fight was lackluster. John handled the spirits that the cult had managed to rustle up, while Zatanna handled the cult members themselves. None of them used magic against her. Just normal human weapons; guns, knives, and one smoke bomb, which Zatanna was especially not a fan of. She had enough smoke for the night. For her entire life in fact. 

Occasionally one of the spirits John was fighting turned their attention to her. A quick 'enogeb' and they were dispatched. She finished before John. Instead of helping him, she just watched him work because honestly, he didn't need help. Due to improper ingredients, the summoned spirits were few in number and weaker than the cult had wanted. John worked through the spirits as if he were a plow going through a field. 

Zatanna enjoyed the sight. His confident smirk. His power stance. The way his hands moved through the air as he chanted.

When he finished he turned back to Zatanna, who was leaning on the wall. “You didn't want to give me a helping hand?”

“You're a big boy. You can handle them all by yourself.”

“Let's get out of here before you get proven right.” Every second they stayed was another second that ‘something more’ could show up. 

“Just let me contact the police.” John nodded and went poking around to what else he could find out about the cult. 

He disagreed with her decision to call the police, she could tell even without talking to him. Zatanna understood why. The cult probably hadn't broken any laws yet, as the spell hadn't required human sacrifice. Even if they had, the chances of having sufficient evidence were slim. The law had a hard time convicting magical criminals because it didn't have the full picture. She had defeated several wizards and witches only for them to be released.

But it still felt like the right thing to do. Maybe the cult didn’t do its taxes. When she was done she found John investigating the room from which they first found the goblet of smoke. She was sure that he had looted the place for everything useful or valuable, but that was a fight for another time.

What was more surprising was the cigarette in his mouth.

“Haven’t you had enough smoke for one night?” 

“As I said, I’m used to it.” His tone sounded unconcerned, but he put it out when he realized Zatanna was keeping her distance. 

“Let's get out of here.” She said. “My mouth still tastes terrible.”

“I've got a solution for that.”

“Really?” Zatanna wrapped her arms around his neck. 

John nodded, with nothing but trouble promised in his eyes. “Peppermint schnapps.” 

Zatanna smiled, that would work. “Then lead the way.”

After a long, horrible tasting, kiss he did.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please consider leaving a kudos or comment,


End file.
